# Elena Kagan Associate Justice of the Supreme Court since 2010. Appointed by [[Barack Obama]] after serving as the first female Solicitor General. Kagan is the liberal wing's most skilled legal technician and the justice whose dissents most effectively expose the conservative majority's methodological inconsistencies — particularly their selective use of originalism and textualism. ## Background Born April 28, 1960, in New York City. Princeton University (AB 1981), Worcester College, Oxford (MPhil 1983), Harvard Law School (JD 1986, supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review). Law clerk to Judge Abner Mikva (D.C. Circuit) and Justice Thurgood Marshall (Supreme Court). Career highlights: University of Chicago Law School professor (1991–1997), Associate White House Counsel and Deputy Director of the [[Domestic Policy Council]] under Clinton (1995–1999), Visiting Professor then Professor at Harvard Law School (1999–2003), Dean of Harvard Law School (2003–2009 — first woman to hold the position), Solicitor General of the United States (2009–2010). Confirmed to the Supreme Court 63–37 in August 2010. Notable as the first justice in nearly four decades with no prior judicial experience. ## Role on the Current Court Kagan's dissents are known for their analytical precision and accessibility. Key examples: - **Dobbs dissent (2022):** Co-authored with Breyer and Sotomayor - **[[Loper Bright v. Raimondo]] dissent (2024):** Wrote the principal dissent against overturning Chevron deference, warning that the majority was "giving itself exclusive power over every open issue" in federal regulation — a critique of judicial aggrandizement - **[[West Virginia v. EPA]] dissent (2022):** Challenged the "major questions doctrine" as a judicial invention without textual basis At 65, Kagan is the youngest of the three liberal justices. ## See Also - [[Supreme Court of the United States]] — The institution where she serves - [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]] — Co-authored dissent